Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 29, 1995                   TAG: 9511290090
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TOLEDO STORMS PAST EXPRESS WITH THIRD-PERIOD FLURRY

A four-goal final period was the most conclusive evidence of why the Storm has the best record in the East Coast Hockey League. The fact Toledo (17-3-2) has more victories than losses when trailing after two periods is another example.

In seeing its season-high four-game winning streak snapped, the Express endured a rarity - the loss was only the second at home in franchise history when Roanoke led after two periods. Roanoke (12-9-0) led 3-2 entering the third.

However, the Storm, which has trailed after two periods eight times this season and has won five of those games, notched a pair of power-play goals during the third-period deluge that put it away.

``We probably had a shot at beating a pretty good team tonight,'' said Frank Anzalone, the Express' coach. ``We took some bad penalties. We gave it back to them. At least, we gave them [the Storm] the opportunity to take it from us and they did. Not that they didn't deserve to win, but we put them back in the driver's seat.''

Toledo's Jason Gladney tied it at 3 with a tough-angle shot that hit Roanoke goalie Matt DelGuidice (8-3) in the pads and squirted through and over the goal line at 5:01 of the third.

The Storm took the lead for good when Rick Judson's one-timer skimmed inside the right post to make it 4-3 at 8:15. A power-play goal from Nicolas Perreault and a short-handed empty-netter by Judson ended it.

``We were doing a good job, then got down a couple of goals and that was it,'' said Roanoke defenseman Jon Larson. ``We took a couple of penalties we shouldn't have. They took advantage of it.''

Roanoke took a 3-2 lead during a two-man advantage at 7:32 of the third when Larson's shot from the point was deflected past Toledo goalie Rob Laurie, a former Roanoke Valley Rebels netminder.

That was the highlight of a period in which the Express was awarded five power plays and that helped slow Toledo.

``We let the referee get us off our game,'' Judson said. ``We realized if we could overcome their power plays, we were a better five-on-five team than them. We just had to stay out of the [penalty] box.''

The Storm was just that in the game's first 10 minutes, churning down the ice like a summer twister over the Kansas plains and scoring twice in the first 9:08.

The Express regrouped with two goals in the final 2:56.

``We had it going, had the power play working,'' Anzalone said. ``We had a chance tonight, but we didn't do a good job penalty killing in the third. Consequently, that means a loss.''